my kingdom for a kiss (upon her shoulder)
by happymedium
Summary: Its in an Airport bar where they meet again.


**AN/ **I actually haven't wrote Paige/Emily, or any fic in a long while. Let me know if you enjoy it though, I have ideas, I just need the motivation to write them.

/

Its in an Airport bar where they meet again.

Emily sits on a barstool, rolling the stem of her empty wine glass between her finger and thumb, contemplating a second. A muffled voice- barely audible -comes on loud over the tannoy, her flight (already delayed by two hours) won't be ready to leave for yet another hour, '_sincerest apologies_'.

She orders herself another merlot.

/

Travelling is the best, and worst, part of her job. She's sent up and across the country, scouting potential swimming stars for her alma mater; Danby. There was a time when she considered going pro, but A soon shattered those dreams in their final act of revenge, and Emily paid the price to save Spencer; a lot of broken bones, and damaged nerve endings in her left leg. Competitive swimming for her is out of the equation. It's a cruel irony.

Absorbed in thought, she almost misses the third glass of merlot that's placed in front of her.

'I didn't order this,' she tells the young man behind the bar, he merely smirks and nods his head towards the other end of the bar, where the past sits with vodka tonic and a sheepish simper. Her breath catches in her throat, her chest suddenly as light as a cloud, the undeniable familiarity of butterflies swarming through every part of her body.

Emily has to steal herself from smiling too widely, (an impossible task,) and tries to remember how her legs work. As soon as Emily shifts to move, Paige is already pacing towards her. She takes a moment to compose herself- as if she'd ever to fully be ready for this- then stands up to meet her

Paige hesitates, but only for a split second, before opening her arms and wrapping her up in what tries to be a platonic hug that lingers just a little too long. Nothing would ever, _could ever_, be platonic between them, It's only when she steps back does she really get to look at Paige, who's doing that endearing dip of her head when she smiles, that nearly winds Emily with affection all over again.

Still as beautiful as when they last spoke; her hair is a lot shorter now, cut into a choppy bob that rests on her shoulders. It makes her look more mature, Emily thinks, and her hand itches to reach out and touch it, but it's been too many years now for her to act so casual.

'Emily, it's great to see you,' Paige smiles sincerely, she's still holding onto Emily's arms as she takes a good look of her. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but changes her mind, and settles on 'How have you been?' instead

'Good- I'm good, thanks,' Emily replies, 'How are you? What are you doing here?'

'Business trip. I'm heading back to Cali tonight though,'

California, of course. After high school, when Emily chose Danby over Stanford. That's when it all began to come apart. She remembers the long distance phone calls, the video calls, the unanswered texts, letting the phone go to voicemail; her stomach twinges at the thought.

Emily orders them another round.

/

They talk some more, asking about each others parents, about the girls; how Spencer is doing, has she heard from Hanna, about the success of Aria's book. They laugh about the past, memories of the summer. It feels comfortable, and easy, like how they used to be.

That is, until Emily asks, 'How is Eva?', despite her better judgement.

Paige raises her eyebrows, surprised,

'She's great, we're good,' is all she says, and the conversation dips into an awkward silence. Just as Emily is done mentally kicking herself, that familiar muffled voice echoes over the tannoy; her flight is ready to board.

'That's me,' she says, breathlessly. Paige nods, and joins Emily in standing.

There's too much distance between them, so Emily holds out her arms and lets Paige step into her hold. For a moment, she let's her eyes flutter closed, lets herself imagine that this won't be the last time they'll see each other. Against her ear, Emily murmurs, 'It was great to see you, Paige,'

'You too,' she counters, and Emily finds it hard not to notice how her smile doesn't reach her eyes. 'Please keep in touch, okay?'

Emily looks down at their hands as Paige presses a business card flat into her palm. She nods, and shrugs her satchel over her shoulder. With so much left unsaid, she flashes a quick wave of her hand and turns away towards her departure gate, feeling one hundred times heavier, and one hundred times lighter than before.


End file.
